darkSpyro

This time, Nolis didn't make eye-contact with Eydis, or even take his gaze off the cart. Instead, he pulled his map out, comparing its details to their current surroundings. "It doesn't show any tracks on here," he muttered, his gaze turned upward and following the tracks that spanned across the dunes. "But it's headed north," his eyes flickered between the map and the horizon line, "which is where we should be heading."

He stared out at the landscape for a long time, the air around them cooling as the sun set. His clothes, wet from sweat and clinging to his body, was starting to chill him. "I've heard deserts get cold at night." He turned and looked towards the entry of the cave. "And wild dogs are active at dark." Nolis looked at Eydis. "I don't think we should stay in one place for too long." He gave a pointed glance at the cart. "It looks safe enough. We'd make good time."

"The fang it is then," Muta nodded. She handed it to him. "Here you go." She looked over her new dagger, or at least tried to with how dirty it was. She chuckled at Gallan's comment. "Yeah, maybe I should wash it first." While she couldn't exactly do that right now, she figured maybe she could at least wipe it off. So she knelt down and began wiping the dagger on the grass.

Once she was done with that, figuring that was all she could do for now, she rose back up to her full height. The half-orc turned to her companion and nodded. "Yeah, it doesn't mean you go looking for trouble. Well, actually, trouble had already found us, but you get what I mean."

When she heard the metal creaking noise, Muta whirled around, her dagger at the ready. She paused when she saw the minecart. That definitely wasn't there before. She didn't remember seeing it before, and it looked too new and clean to be out here for very long. What was a minecart doing out in the middle of the forest anyway? The fact that it seemed to appear out of nowhere made it even more suspicious.

"Gallan, wait! Be careful," she warned as she watched him approach the mysterious cart. Muta didn't trust it. It just seemed too odd. What if it was another trap of some kind? When she saw her companion hop in, and nothing terrible preceded, she began to consider his words. Maybe he was right. It wouldn't be the first time today something weird and magical had been offered to them.

Muta put away her dagger and approached the cart. She inspected it for a moment, just to be sure. "Alright, fine." She supposed it was safe enough. Although, why they couldn't have just been provided with a horse and carriage was beyond her. The half-orc gave the cart a good push before hopping in it herself.

Quote: Waaksian

This time, Nolis didn't make eye-contact with Eydis, or even take his gaze off the cart. Instead, he pulled his map out, comparing its details to their current surroundings. "It doesn't show any tracks on here," he muttered, his gaze turned upward and following the tracks that spanned across the dunes. "But it's headed north," his eyes flickered between the map and the horizon line, "which is where we should be heading."

He stared out at the landscape for a long time, the air around them cooling as the sun set. His clothes, wet from sweat and clinging to his body, was starting to chill him. "I've heard deserts get cold at night." He turned and looked towards the entry of the cave. "And wild dogs are active at dark." Nolis looked at Eydis. "I don't think we should stay in one place for too long." He gave a pointed glance at the cart. "It looks safe enough. We'd make good time."

Eydis looked at Nolis, then at the cart. Tracks were nowhere to be seen.
"I'm not sure. Getting into a cart like this with these kind of tracks... it's too risky..." she said, but before Nolis could contradict her, she had a change of heart.
"On the other hand, it's more risky to stay on this infernal desert. Come on, hop on. I'll use my staff to push us." she said, jumping in. She didn't know or how that cart got in there, or even if it was there from the beginning, and she didn't care. That was their only ticket out of there. The dune will provide them with speed. All she cared about was getting out of there. She still had painful flashbacks of both the sand shark and the squid, and knew that, in a way, the former saved their life. If the shark hadn't appeared when it did, the hungrier squid wouldn't have toyed with them, and probably would've dine on them instantly without giving them the time to react.

//there are tracks, Waaksian meant there weren't any tracks on the map so it seemed suspicious//

OOC: Oh, missed that part. I was a little distracted. Fixed it.

//that's okay once redwes should be done with his quest very soon and then ill send you all on the real beginning of your quest~//

//Just wanted to say I hope you're all having fun, I'm sure I'm still kinda rusty, hopefully I'm not rushing things too much or anything bad like that. Also, poor Todd, he keeps getting bad rolls cx//

OOC: It's alright! And keep up the good work!
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Quote: Lunarz

Todd's actions were for naught. As he attempted to plunge his sword into the large creatures tail it noticed the attack and knocked Todd away.

The man dressed in white armor snarled, his lip twitching and forming a terrifying scowl as he saw the halfling knocked about. The mystery man ran towards the creature, it was as if his armor weighed nothing, dust collected on the ground beneath his boots like a powerful plane engine knocking away any form of debris, his shining golden colored sword at his side as he dashed across the field and lunged into the air at the beasts tail, a forward somersault midair before he sliced the rats second tail clean off. The blood splatter was not for the faint of heart and the man hoped Todd not queasy.

He'd felt bad for completing Todd's quest for him...But that guilt was short lived as the Rats tail began to regrow, the man wasn't able to cut off the entire tail and so the ring stayed on. "YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING" The man began to run towards Todd as the rat creature began to roll towards them. "SHOOT THE RING!" It was a near impossible shot but it was the only shot they had.

Todd gritted his teeth, tired of being knocked around. "I'll get you this time you stupid rat!.," he said preparing to draw an arrow and carefully aiming at the desired target. He may be small-- but he wasn't going to let himself be pushed around like that and he *wasn't* going to let someone else do the work for him. He let his mind clear for a brief moment, focused on the oh-so-desirable golden ring, and soon let the arrow fly hopefully into its intended destination.

It was an impossible shot that only the most skilled archers could make, the trajectory, taking in the account of the wind, the moving target, there was no possible way tha-...The arrow hit its mark, the wind at its back and helping propel it forward, the arrow pierced the already cracked ring right in the small crevice that had been creature from all the flailing about, the blazing white ring snapped in half. The Emperor, still rolling, began to weave back and forth, drifting in either direction but still headed towards Todd and the man. They would have been doomed had the rat not diminished in size and into that of a tiny field mouse just before crushing the two under its previously unmatched weight. The tiny mouse squeaked and ran off into the stalks. The ring, cracked in half, fell to the floor in two pieces and lost its shining aura, becoming a regular golden ring.

The unidentified man gave a sigh of relief, despite how strong he seemed he had still been terrified out of his mind by the rolling ball of fluffy death. While still trying to catch his breath and his composure he still made sure to grab the broken ring. "Hey, kid." He said as he turned around to face Todd. "I'll take this broken junk, you earned this." The man tossed Todd the ring he'd previous picked up, this one still in one piece and glowing white.

In the background a muffled scream could be heard, followed by the tiny pitter pattering footsteps of a small creature, it was the Gnome! He'd ran into the clearing and began to take his friend down from her almost deadly fate. "Oh! I'm so happy you're okay!"

"You're so brave, my hero!" The small female Gnome gave the other a kiss on the cheek.

"Th-Thank you! You saved her! W-we don't have anything to give you..."

The man piped up. "It's alright. An adventurer goes where needed for he has the urge to face new challenges and those challenges are reward enough" He turned to face the halfing, "Isn't that right?" The man slowly removed his helmet, his light brown hair glistened in what was left of the dimming sunlight, his blue eyes stared at Todd as if piercing into his soul.

The two Gnomes gave beaming smiles at the two and ran off out of the maze, skipping as their fingers interlocked.

"I guess I should introduce myself." The man made a fist and placed it upon his chest. "I am Din." It was then he realized, Todd's partner, Phillip, had been dragged away. "I'm...I'm afraid your companion is gone...Drimole's frequent this area, they're ferocious little mole like creatures with drills for hand and they love to drag their pray underground through their elaborate tunnels...There's not much you can do for him. I'm sorry."

Just as had happened for the other groups, a metallic creaking sound breezed through the wind and into Todd's ear. A track underneath it and a clearing through the stalks could be seen.

"Ah, you best be on your way, I have a feeling that's for you." Din gave a wink and a thumbs up to the boy.

Todd gave a slight chuckle at the sight of the giant-rat-turned-tiny, both relieved and slightly humored by the whole experience. As the gnomes reunited and the stranger introduced himself, Todd gave a nod still shocked that he was able to make the shot. "Right and thank-you. I'm.. I'm Todd if we ever meet again. As for my companion, well at least he died for a good cause. That's all we can hope for sometimes.," he said eyeing the happy gnomes in the distance and accepting the ring as a meager reward. "Well-- I guess I should be going now. It was nice meeting you Din!," he then said giving a final nod and hopping onto the cart. He gave a slight smile at seeing the two happy gnomes and successfully completing the 'quest' despite the cost.

Weary and tired from their first tastes of challenges, our now five heroes enjoy their moments of peace and quiet during their journey in the mysterious minecarts, wind blowing through their hair and cool breeze upon their faces making them feel fresh and alive which was hopefully a good omen for what was to come, but as they would soon realize the severity of the challenges ahead would be far greater.

Gallan and Muta had defeated their first challenge: A band of fish loving Goblins and a large terrifying Ogre, and although Gallan nearly ruined the mission for himself and Muta a kinship was blossoming, a sort of brotherly and sisterly bond between the two had evolved, perhaps they would have strong teamwork in the future.

Eydis and Nolis defeated the treacherous Tentacla, bringing it down to its knees, or rather tentacles. But the two seem too stubborn for their own good, perhaps this will affect their questing, or perhaps it will make them even stronger, but will they be able to work together? Their ideals clash and their personalities very similar and yet very different. Will they make the perfect pairing after all?

Todd and Phillip -- or rather, Todd and Din, defeated the gluttonous Emperor of Multirats and saved the two lovebird Gnomes from their untimely demise, although with Phillip gone and presumed dead will Todd be able to continue or will a looming guilt stay over his head like a rain cloud? Maybe he's already accepted what had happened, or perhaps grief has hit him silently. Whatever it may be, Todd is in for quite the ride.

The tracks all converged into one location, a field. But in front of the heroes that had now all been reunited was a large stone brick wall that surrounded a town; the town of Squall. Their first destination in their quest to defeat the nefarious Evil One. Will they find the man whom Aldoron told them to meet?

The town was medium sized, not too big but not too small, the perfect amount of metaphorical porridge. Locals wandered the gray brick lain streets.

"Muta," Gallan whispered, "It's..." After realizing who was in the other carts he yelled out excitedly. "IT'S THE OTHERS! GUYS! GUYS YOU MADE IT!" Gallan jumped out of the cart and ran towards Eydis and Nolis. "You two did it! Haha, I thought you'd rip each others throats out!" Next was Todd and Philli- "Hey! Todd you made it! Where's Phillip is he hiding in the cart?"

Muta couldn't help but laugh at Gallan's reaction upon seeing the others, but it was also a relief knowing they were okay. She hopped out and followed him, albeit at a slower pace. "Geez, calm down, don't startle them. We don't know what they went through to get here." Focusing her gaze on her companions, she gave them each a gentle smile. "I'm glad everyone made it out in one piece."

Although, it seemed the half-orc spoke too soon. When Gallan questioned Phillip's whereabouts, Muta turned sharply to survey the cart. She didn't see him, and it seemed unlikely that the large fellow was hiding. Her eyes widened at the realization of what possibly happened. Oh no... Please let me be wrong...

Upon exiting the cart and briefly looking ahead towards their destination, Todd turned towards the others and grimly shook his head. "Phillip-- Phillip didn't make it I'm afraid. He.. he got dragged down under and although I was able to defeat it with the help of someone named Din-- there was nothing I could do. I'm.. I'm so sorry guys and if I could go back and do it all again...," Todd said slightly tearing up, but trying not to show it. He and Phillip had one job and even with Phillip taking the fall, he couldn't it finish it on his own. He may have technically succeeded, but he felt as if he had failed and it had cost his own partner's life in the process. He looked down, both to hide the tears in his eyes and the look of shame on his small-framed face.

The cart ride to the town had been-- to Nolis's relief-- completely uneventful, and he and his companion had arrived at their destination quickly. By the time they had, a pair of additional carts were soon visible. Stepping out, he eyed Gallan with his typical analytical stare as he excitedly greeted them, although his harsh expression was broken by a barely detectable smile. It seemed that the comment regarding their... shared rough edges, for lack of a better term, amused him to some small degree.

Whatever pleasantness he was feeling was swiftly quashed upon the head count. Five. Five out of six. Of course... how could he expect any different?

Upper lip twitching, Nolis tore his gaze from the distressed face of Todd, glaring daggers at the ground. "Not even the first round," he muttered, fists clenching. A sudden flurry of emotions rose inside, the same ones that had threatened to overtake him at the dome. He wouldn't allow it, though. Not in front of the others. Instead, he turned his back and started storming away, but not before one final, dark utterance.

"This is hopeless."

Eydis looked indifferent with the hug, but nevertheless was glad that there was some enthusiastic love in at least one member of the group. She returned the gesture with a brief pat on the shoulder.
"So... we made it at last. I hope you guys had it better than us." Eydis said, not wanting to keep secret the fact that she was traumatized by her and her companion's recent ordeal. It was only a few seconds later that she noticed something was different. Something was definitely off. She didn't take a close look at the group when they separated, but she knew not everybody was there. It was only after Todd asserted Phillip didn't make it that she confirmed her suspicions.

With a low grunt, Muta slammed her fist against the nearest cart, not even caring about the potential consequences of that. Damn it! They had just faced their first challenge, and yet they had somehow lost one already. Did Phillip even have a chance? Was there something else that could have been done? Could he have been saved somehow? Muta was almost tempted to go back for him, to see if he could be rescued somehow. However, that seemed unlikely. They were already down to five. With things starting out this difficult, how much worse would it get?

The half-orc said nothing as Nolis stormed off. She just turned her gaze to the ground. She didn't have the heart to argue with his words right now. Muta didn't want to admit it, but this journey was going to be tougher than she imagined it would be. Maybe the lizardboy had a point. With one gone already, and how difficult even the first challenges were, how far could they really go with this quest? Could they succeed, or even survive until it came time to face their final challenge? The odds didn't look promising.

OOC: Changed it again. Sorry. I guess I'm not paying much attention today. Haven't been sleeping well

Eydis didn't know what to feel. She barely knew Phillip, yet she knew she had to feel something for what appeared to be the loss of a life. This really made her uneasy. Barely the first mission and somebody didn't make it.
"We're just children... so to speak. And those old guys made us journey through these dangerous terrain full of murderous creatures to hunt down whoever the heck this evil entity is!" Eydis said with clear frustration, wanting to show how obvious her hatred for the elders. Before waiting for a response, she went after Nolis, knowing that he felt the same frustration...

Gallan felt himself flood with negative emotions, it was as if his entire body had been hit with a tidal wave of despair at the news of Phillip's passing. Gallan had barely even spoken to him and yet his sadness came in full fledged. "But..." He couldn't believe the news, they were six just hours ago and now they were only five, but Gallan knew that nothing could be done about it, and he knew that he had to be brave like Muta said and there was nothing brave about forgetting their mission to sulk.

"Guys," He'd noticed Nolis walking away and had hoped he'd hear what he had to say. "I-I know this may seem unfair because...Well, because it is unfair, but if we weren't on this quest then Phillip would have died either way, we all would have died. Don't you guys all think it's worth dying if we can save people? I-I mean I don't want to die...I feel I've only just began to live but...I don't think Phillip would want us to give up, I think he'd want us to keep going and face this journey head on, even if it's going to be the hardest thing we've ever had to do, because just think of all those children counting on us, we hold their futures in our hands and, and, and we can do something great! Now who's with me?" Gallan put his hand out, trying to rally the rest to put their hands in aswell.

Eydis glared at Gallan, appearing very annoyed. Though she found his gentle gesture welcoming earlier, she believed the young lad was forcing himself to have blind fate.
"Don't you see? It's not about the journey. It's not about the mission! It's about... the world. It's changing! This is only the first mission and we already lost somebody! Here comes these random old people sitting in their comfortable chairs in their protecting dome, beckoning us to them and claiming to know about our past, sending us to these deadly battles because they don't want to do them themselves! We're at an age where we're suppose to enjoy life! We're barely beginning it... AND YET HERE WE ARE RISKING OUR NECKS IN A WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING WANTS YOU DEAD CAUSE WE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS OF STRANGERS!" Eydis yelled at the top of her lungs, ventilating her frustration. The vein on her forehead was bulging, and her usually pale skin was red with fury.

Nolis had heard Gallan meekly raise his voice, and though he didn't turn around, he at least stopped before leaving out of earshot. He breathed sharply through his nose, scoffing at the boy's unrelenting enthusiasm and positivity. Why couldn't they see? Why did they insist on expecting the best? They'd only be disappointed in the end; it was a feeling he knew all too well himself, and one that he'd never let himself experience again.

It was only after Eydis's outburst of rage when the lizardboy turned his head. He kept his sharp gaze on the two as he started to walk back, his posture righting a degree as he prepared to assert himself. Her outrage was warranted, he believed, but aggression towards teammates was unnecessary. Once he was just at the edge of the circle of five, he stated in a harsh monotone, "Let's keep this civil." Turning to Gallan, his demeanor losing some of its hard edge, he began, "The point Eydis is trying to make is that history is repeating itself. Our parents tried to save the world; they succeeded at the cost of their lives, but only temporarily. The Evil One is back-- probably stronger than ever-- and there's only us, a group of much younger and inexperienced children, who have a chance of stopping him. And if by some luck we do, he'll only simply return once again in due time. We're not likely to survive this, since our parents didn't, and we have no children of our own to replace us. There will be nothing to stop him in the future."

Taking a deep intake of breath, as the points he had just given riled his nerves to a point he wouldn't allow, he concluded, "So, how can we expect anything better? Why have hope? We'll only be disappointed in the end. The whole world would be." Only then did he turn his gaze away from the group. "I'll still go. There's no point to not trying, I suppose. But don't expect me to take it with a cheery attitude."

When Gallan spoke up, Muta raised her gaze to look at him while she took in his words. While she was frustrated with Phillip's death, and wished there had been some way to save him, she did agree with her companion's words. She took a deep breath, trying to move past the lost. She couldn't let grief stop her from finishing this quest. With a small smile, Muta walked over and stood beside Gallan.

Stern eyes fell on Eydis at her words and how she had reacted. "That's enough," she said firmly. "We're on this journey for a reason. We don't have time to enjoy life, when there's problems and evils in the world that must be dealt with. Even if we chose not to partake in this quest, we could still very well die. Granted, we may not survive this quest, but at least if we succeed, we'll leave the world a safer place for others. It's a noble cause to die for." Muta sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't want to die on this journey either, but I don't want to just sit around at home, waiting for death to come to me. If I'm going to die either way, I mine as well use my last moments trying to do the right thing."

Eydis turned her back at the group, knowing too we'll that they were right and that her outburst was rude and unnecessary. Gallan was simply trying to help in his own way, and she has been so furious that unfortunately, she took it out on him. But she had too much frustration that she had to let it all out to avoid falling into madness. Now with the anger out, Eydis was much calmer. She looked at her hands, glowing green with her magic, which only happened when she was in a relaxed state. It disappeared when she had the urge to cry, but desisted. She was much too stoic to show any tears.
"Fine then, we do this, but not cause those... elders told us. We're doing it for our own sake. My magic isn't very strong, but I know it can heal you all when needed..." Eydis said in a serene tone, ashamed of her outburst. She wanted to apologize to Gallan, but was feeling too proud and embarrassed to do so.

"Guys...," Todd said speaking up after a few moments of silence. "We all came here for a reason-- the world is at stake and if this experience has proved anything.. it's that the cost of not doing anything is too great of a risk. I know its a tough pill to swallow and-- and it is. However, we have to keep moving forward and do all that we can to the best of our abilities. Not only for Phillip, but for the sake of the world itself. For better or worse-- I am still here and I am willing to do my part." the Halfling than said showing his support and looking ahead towards the city. As he spoke; he spoke with slightly more confidence in the sound of his voice as he tried to hide the still lingering guilt. He wouldn't be so quick to move on, but he also wouldn't let the feeling hold him back ether.

A cold breeze rustled through the leaves that were beginning to turn an assortment of beautiful and alluring colors. Gallan related to those leaves, he felt as if he had changed even if after such a short time but the juxtaposition between the leaves and Eydis was uncanny, she hadn't changed one bit; still pissed at the WoM and yet not realizing that she never even had to take on the quest, and if her attitude didn't change, if she didn't realize that this was something that had to be done, then Gallan didn't want anything to do with her. Not everyone was as thrilled with their duties as Gallan was, which was to be expected, especially since Phillip couldn't even make it past the first challenge but at least Gallan had Muta and Todd on his side, and Nolis to an extent although he didn't seem chipper about the experience he still seemed to give off a gleam of hope in those dark eyes of his.

Gallan, embarrassed due to circumstance of nobody else throwing their hand in, brought his back to his side. "So, um..." Words didn't exactly come to him whenever they were needed, in times like this it seemed like someone needed to rally the troops and Gallan wanted to be the one to do so but he wasn't sure if he could satisfy everybody, he wasn't sure if he could find the correct vernacular in which to convey the situation and pump up his fellow companions with hope. "We may not all agree on everything but we're all here, and we lost Phillip but I won't let us lose anybody else, not a single one. We are all in this um, we're in this together and um..." His speech hit a roadblock, it was hard being the voice of reason, having to be brave and pretend that everything would be okay. As the worry began to seep away from the boy's face he continued with his monologue. "We're supposed to find someone here, Aldoron said he was good at enchanting stuff? Maybe we should start asking around town, I bet somebody has to know something right?"

The town was bustling, there must have been twenty, thirty people occupying the streets. There were creatures of all kinds: Humans, Gnomes, Kobolds, Skreen, Halfings, even Lizardfolk and Jawmax's. The town was diverse, but with so many people and so many buildings and without even a description of who they were looking for it seemed like it would be quite the difficult challenge to find this man they seeked.

"It might be a good idea to split up, but it also might be dangerous...I don't want to place us in groups like I did before, I'm not really entitled to take charge of anything so it's all up to you, what do you think? Groups again or should we split up?"

Map of the town

OOC: Out of curiosity, what are Jawmax's? I'm not familiar with that term and Google just brings up tractors. Nothing in DND/Pathfinder ether, so I'm at a loss. Unless I missed something along the line.

EDIT: Ah-- okay. Got you.. sounds cool!

---

Todd looked in awe at the sprawling town, wondering how they would ever find the person they were looking forward among so many people. He was used to simple life, hunting and the like, so this was definitely a new experience for him. 'As if this wasn't already a new experience.,' he thought to himself. He had also never seen so many different races and species all in one place-- from the short nimble Halfings (or Half-Halfings) like himself to even the more exotic beast-like species. One could get lost in a place like this and they were already down one from the previous experience. "I think we should stick together and watch each other's backs-- you never know what can happen in a place like this. And if we must split up-- it'll have to be a group of three and a group of two.. unless someone wants to go solo.," he then said stating his opinion on the matter and observing their new numbers.

//New race I created, Jawmax: Jawmax's are shark like humanoids who like to live in solitude, often in rougher areas of the continent. Docile until provoked. Jawmax's body form consist of regular legs and a bulked up hunched back, color varying but often blue or gray with white stomachs, they have large snouts and dorsal fins on their backs and elbows. Razor sharp teeth and claws. They also possess a large bulky long tail with spiked protrusions that they drag across the ground.//

OOC: Nice description. And you should put that map on the first page as well, if you haven't already. Or if this town is only visited once, then I guess it won't be necessary

Eydis remained rather distant from the group. She still wanted to apologize to Gallan, but words never came. She remained silent as she contemplated the town and the people in it, fascinated by the variety of species. None a nymph, or at least with descendance as far as she could tell, so she really felt out of place. She was quite surprised on how this town could get along rather well despite their differences, especially the Jawmaxs. They sort of reminded her of the sand shark that attacked her and Nolis hours ago, but thankfully, this population didn't seem nowhere near as hostile.

It wasn't only after a while that she decided to share her opinion on Gallan's comment.
"The larger our group, the better the chances we'll have of survival, but for now, we can settle here for one night and purchase whatever we need. Whoever it is that we need to find, it can wait until tomorrow." she expressed with the same serene tone as before, wanting the group to know she was much calmer and more tolerable now. It has always been her and Adaon, so expressing herself has been really hard ever since joining this dangerous mission.

Muta surveyed the town, looking around at all the different races that populated it. They all looked so unique and interesting. This town was much more diverse than her home village. The half-orc was only used to seeing humans and dwarves. Although, while seeing other races was intriguing, she was admittedly a little disappointed. Muta hadn't seen a single orc, or even another half-orc like herself. While she didn't expect to have the time on this journey to learn about her heritage, she had somewhat hoped on at least seeing other orcs and half-orcs. Maybe someday...

Considering her companions' words, she thought about what she wanted to do and what their next course of action should be. "I think stopping by the inn first is a good idea," Muta decided. "We can get our rooms and get settled in for the night. After we rest, we can move on to other things." She paused a moment to think. "I don't see a problem with splitting up, we can cover more ground that way and find this person faster. We can even use the inn as a meeting place if we find anything. Plus, we can take care of other things we need to do, like shop," and shower, she didn't add aloud. Muta was sure that still smelling like fish wouldn't help her to socialize with other people all that much. Well, except for maybe the Jawmaxs.

Nolis trudged behind at the tail end of the group, arms draped across his chest and head lowered. It was a struggle for him to be his usual observant self at the moment, the despair that came from the unfortunate news of Phillip's fate still restraining him in its stronghold. However, at the least it wasn't something completely foreign to him. The feeling would pass eventually. It always did.

"I think we should split up, but only in two groups, like Todd said. No one needs to be alone. Or should be."

Ironically, Nolis's train of thought followed Muta's regarding the matter of hygiene. At the "sh" consonant he was surprised to hear "shop" instead of "shower". She could definitely use one, that's for sure... not that Nolis was any better off, considering that he smelled like musty old socks after sweating in that desert heat.

// Guys I totally forgot to add a store so the Fortune Teller is now the Store.//

The group notice a noise, as if sands were shifting inside of their bags.

"Did you guys hear that?" The small boy made sure to scour his surroundings carefully, he didn't want to take any chances of being vulnerable lest they have another problem like the Ogre on their hands or worse. Nothing. Not a single thing but trees surrounding the walls of the town, although the chance that something was hiding in the lush green brush of the pine trees that softly wavered in the wind Gallan still was sure that he'd heard something. His suspicions were confirmed when his bag and the others began to glow. "Guys I think it's our maps!" Quickly he removed the carefully folded up map from his bag to find that, to his complete surprise and wonder, the map had shifted from what it had previously shown and now provided a map of the town. "Whoa, that's awesome!" He exclaimed, worried the others would judge his childish wonder, especially since his height made him seem like a still growing prepubescent child. Gallan made sure to try and memorize the map and noticed that there was in fact an Inn in the Northwest part of town. "Hey look! We should probably make our way to the Inn like Eydis said, it may be a good idea, we can get some rest and hopefully our mystery mentor will be easier to find in the day time."

Folding the map back up and placing it into his worn beige bag Gallan began to walk into town towards the Town Square, although intimidated by some of the locals such as the Kobolds and Jawmax's Gallan still kept his composure as he was far too nervous to even show his nervousness. "I'm gonna head to the Inn, it might be a good idea for the girls to get a room and then us guys can bunk together, unless you guys wanna play some spill the bottle." He hoped his joke would get through and people wouldn't think him serious, after all he was only trying to lighten the mood and take the focus off of Phillip's death, it was far too dangerous to loom over what had already happened, they had to keep moving and hope that they all made it through.

Hoping the others would follow behind Gallan began to walk down the cobblestone road, horses passing him with bags drudged over their saddles, most likely carrying wares for the people leading the horses to sell. It reminded Gallan about the crystals they'd found, he wondered if they were worth anything, maybe he could pawn them at the local store. Although they were a nice souvenir, he then began to wonder if they had any special properties, he'd heard of crystal healing but he didn't believe in all that mumbo jumbo, which was ironic since he lived in a world where dragons roamed the Earth.

The lamps that light the streets shone beautifully, Gallan knew about electrical magic, well he had heard about it in stories, where he was from they had to use candles to light everything and it never helped much, always giving very dim light, but these lampposts were awe striking, the way they flickered slightly and created shadows that spanned out far along the stone path. He noticed tiny bugs flittering around the light, most likely moths wanting to bask in the wondrous light show that was being held before them. Gallan identified with the moths, wanting so badly to have something but not able to reach it, his goal being blocked by some invisible force that was almost impossible to break through, the moths to the light and him to bravery. He so badly wanted to save the world and then maybe everyone would see him in a different light, maybe people wouldn't see him as some little wimpy kid but as a brave young man.

Eydis followed Gallan with some indifference, wanting to make sure he didn't get lost with his childish enthusiasm, almost losing him due to having a quarrel with Adaon, who nearly ate the glowing map when it became too attractive. Afterwards, she also spotted the horses with the bags, and wondered if the owners were traveling merchants. She already had gold in her, and she was somebody who never hoarded money for too long. She always wanted to make sure she had something useful that could help her survive in her journey rather than have an otherwise useless metal like coins weighing her down.
"Excuse me there?" she called to the possible merchants, though she doubted they heard with all the commotion of the villagers. Even though she wanted a good bath and a warm sleep, she wanted to leave with useful objects so that she won't have any distractions tomorrow and focus on finding the person that was going to help them.

Todd followed, still in awe at the large town. It was no major city or anything, but it was still much busier and much more crowded than anything he was used to. And the lights. 'Lights-- without flame. Beats keeping a fire stoked.,' he thought as he followed Gallan towards the town square. As they walked, he thought to the fight and to the golden ring he had received. Part of him inferred that it was magical somehow and it did seem to have quite the effect on the rat. He wondered if their new "mentor" would know what to do with it, assuming they found him at all. His eyes wondered from sight to sight-- looking at the various passing merchants, different species such as the intimidating Jawmax's, and all the different things that people had managed to pack all into one location. He was never really an urban person-- dealing with the occasional traveler or bandit but never this many people before. "So this is Squall...," he thought out-loud.

Upon hearing the noise, Muta gave a low grunt that almost sounded like a growl, and quickly began scanning the area for potential threats. While carefully surveying everything, she kept a firm grasp on the hilt of her sword, ready to draw it if need be. When she noticed their bags were all glowing, she reached inside to pull out her map. The half-orc watched as the map magically changed to display the town, and gave a simple blink once it finished. "Well... That's new," she muttered under her breath. Muta still wasn't quite used to all this magic stuff just yet. She gave a nod at Gallan's suggestion. "Sounds good. We can meet up in the morning and discuss how we want to go about the search, or I guess who wants to go with who." She gave a quick look at the map, taking note of where everything was. While the inn was their first stop, she couldn't help but focus her attention on where the blacksmith shop was located.

Muta followed after Gallan, looking around at all the sights, but making sure to keep up with her companion. While the town was busier than her quiet, little village, all the sights and sounds weren't so surprising for her. She had seen visitors come to her village for supplies before. Although, the magical electric lights were new, since her village didn't exactly have an abundance of magic, more so relying on tinkering skills. It was all the different races that caught her eye the most, though. Rather than intimidated, Muta was actually fascinated with the types of people that were gathered here. She gazed wide-eyed at them, but tried not to stare too much. She didn't want any of them getting the wrong idea about her. The half-orc quietly wondered how the Kobolds and Jawmaxs handled mingling with the other races here. How well did they all get along? Was there any ill treatment among races? Were they all treated as regular people? She wondered how many were intimidated by the more beastly races.

The half-orc was brought out of her thoughts when Gallan spoke up, and she nodded. His suggestion made sense and she didn't see a problem with it. She glanced at Eydis briefly. The two hadn't really interacted all that much since the journey had begun, and she hoped that things wouldn't be awkward between them. Hopefully, they could comfortably share a room together, without any problems. Muta thought to ask if that was okay with her, but Eydis hadn't complained about the idea, and she seemed distracted anyway. Perhaps it would be best to wait until they got to the inn.

Gallan kept to himself at this time, he was replaying the moments just moments before when they fought those terrifying monsters. If Gallan hadn't been so deep in thought he would have acknowledged his Half-Orc companion, he did take note of her catching up to him however, he appreciated that, it made him feel less lonely. Back on his farm he had no one but his animals, never truly having any friends due to never going to school or having a job outside of his home. My rope idea was good...Why did I need to jump in, could I have done something better? Ugh, and forgetting how to tie a knot, embarrassing! I bet even the Ogre thought I was a joke...No, no I have to stay strong, I have to be better next time and strategize better, it's not always about making action, sometimes it's okay to sit out right? Like when the bulls would fight you couldn't get involved, I always held back even though I was afraid they'd get hurt...Okay, think of this like the farm. Finally being graced with a smile on his previously neutral face Gallan now had a skip in his proverbial step, and just in time too because the Inn was now in sight as he happily made his way through the town square, trying to avoid the hustle and bustle of the night owls that lined the square. "Hey, I'm gonna hit the bar in the morning, I have a feeling someone there might know something, like those bar know-it-all's in the Saturday comics we get in the newspapers." He knew Muta would probably rather hit the Blacksmith, and that may have been a good idea too, but he couldn't rely on Muta this entire journey so he thought it best to spread out and cover more ground. "That goes for anyone else who wants to come with me!" He called out to the others that trudged behind his lead.

The men walking the horses didn't even stop, but they didn't turn to speak as they continued their stride. "Huh? Oh, are you a loyal customer? Well, we're busy but everything we bring out comes from the shop, you should stop by. Remember, if your need is indeed, then indeed go to Kneed. The Kneed Brothers that is! Maybe we'll see ya on the road, miss." with that, they left the town gates and were gone.

After hearing the travelers and giving them a small thanks, she took note of what they said and pressed on. The next stop Eydis wanted to take was the store. It must've been packed judging by the size of the bags the poor horses were carrying. No wonder she confused them with merchants. She didn't think much danger awaited them here at a town, so it wouldn't matter if they were separated for the time being.
"Well, I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I want to go to the store. We need to pack ourselves with whatever is necessary. I'll meet you all at the inn." Eydis commented as she took a look at her map, covered in small bite marks from the gluttonous Adaon. She too longed for a good bed and a long bath, but since she was still active, she wanted to spend the little energy she had left on supplying herself so that she wouldn't feel rushed tomorrow. Unlike Gallan, the ordeal from hours ago was put behind her, at least for a while, the town being a brief distraction of the trauma she still felt deep inside.

The Inn was quite surprisingly beautiful considering, it felt cozy right as you walked in the door the rustic decorations made Gallan think of home. Hanging from the ceilings were lightning magic lamps, held in mosaic glass blown spheres. The lighting was dim but on purpose, probably to give one a calmer feel from the busy streets of the town. A desk resided directly to the right once entering and a beautiful young girl with blonde hair tied into a pony tail stood behind it, she wore a brown corset and a frilly white top that accentuated her small curves. Her pants were olive and tied with a small rope. "How can I help you?" She said with a smile, her dimples seemed to light up the room more than the lamps on the ceiling. A bell sat on the desk, shining silver and giving off a reflection to where Gallan could see his distorted figure.

"Go ahead, darlin', I know you want to." Gallan widened his eyes, how did she know that he wanted it? "A-Alright th-thanks" he said and then gulped. He wanted to do it bad, so he did. *DING* he rang the bell, it was like a tiny like fairy spreading its dust with its glowing wand. Gallan was happy about it, one of the shops in the town near his farm had a bell and he rang it every time. "Alright dumplin' what'll it be?"

Gallan thought for a moment, he'd completely forgotten what he was asking about. "Uh...Uh I...Oh! We need two rooms please miss, one for three and another for two."

"Certainly, that'll be 70 gold pieces please!"

"C-Certainl-Sure." Gallan rustled through his pouch and pulled out the money, handing it over to the girl. He completely hadn't realized that everyone probably should have split the pay but he was too nervous to even catch himself on that, speaking to new people was intimidating to him.

"W-Well, we should get to our rooms." He exclaimed to the others that had followed behind. "I guess it's me, Nolis and Todd."

"The room is just down the hall and to the left, and you ladies are on the right, y'all have a good night now~" She handed both Gallan and Muta a key to their rooms.

Gallan gave a nod and slight smile as he made his way to the room and unlocked the door, the brass key seemed shiny as if new, but the scratches proved otherwise. They must really care about cleanliness here..."

As he opened the door he noticed something odd, only two beds and they were singles. "Oh great...I guess I've slept on the barn floor enough times to get used to it..." He began to take off his bag and pouch aswell as the weapons he had and placed them all on the desk that was provided in the room.

In both rooms the beds seemed to have sheets of silk and light blankets, the pillows were filled with soft and comfortable duck feathers and the bath that accompanied the room was large enough for all of each rooms inhabitants to fit, although Gallan was a bit embarrassed about sharing a bath with the others, he wondered if he'd skip the bathing altogether, although with the way that he smelled he wasn't sure if that was a good idea, maybe they could take turns? But then the water would get all dirty...He then wondered if there was a private bath somewhere in the Inn but he doubted that. Finally he decided he was over thinking things and he made his way to the inbetween of the beds and sat down on the floor.

Meanwhile, while the rest were at the inn, Eydis was thinking of going to the store, but since she stumbled into the blacksmith first, she decided to start from there. The place was bigger than she imagined, and it was not just for forging swords. There seemed to be weapons for sale as well. However, with that variety, came price, and she could see most of the weapons and trinkets on sale were quite expensive. She had 550g, which seemed like a lot, but she knew she had to be wise in spending it. Despite wanting to get rid of some of the weight the money put on her, she wanted to remain with at least 100g in case of an emergency. She saw many attractive things, like swords, sables, even what looked like katanas. As attractive as everything was, she knew she had to concentrate on long range weapons, the ones she knew how to use. She wondered if they were available here. Also, she wanted to save for other stuff like a canteen and a compass, which she imagined she would only be able to get at the general store. And maybe even an amulet that could help her control her magic? It looked like she was going to stay a while here though, but Eydis didn't want to arrive very late at the inn, so she tried to accelerate the pace, even if it meant skipping the store for tomorrow...

//I hope I'm not coming off as rude or anything, I always fear I am when I make an OOC to correct stuff but just for reference if you want weapons you have to go to the blacksmith and have them forged, you can buy base weapons at the blacksmith however, I have an entire system for it that I'll explain when it's morning in game. The shop has different things, so maybe instead of the shop you stumbled into the blacksmith. Just for the future remember when you go somewhere in the town I'll explain what's there, sorry if I hadn't made that clear, I already know what's in the shop and I'll reveal that tomorrow morning aswell. Sorry for any inconvenience ;-; hope you don't think I'm picking on you Felines, I guess I should explain things better so that's miscommunication on my end. There are trinkets there which I'll explain soon though.//

OOC: Oh boy, I assumed too much. I wanted to save you the trouble of typing too much, so I thought that's how it worked. I'm sorry. I'll change it right away to make sense. I'll consult you first before typing something like this

Edit: Alright, changed it. It's supposed to be alright now. I hope I can finally learn of this one and leave most of the setting and appearances to you

//It's alright, I should have explained stuff better!//

As Todd and the others entered the room, he was delighted to see the sight of the oh-so-comfortable-looking beds that adorned their room. There was something about a soft feather-filled bed after a long hard day-- and theirs certainly qualified. He did pout slightly when he soon discovered that there were only *two* beds for three people and that one of them would to sleep on the most-likely-not-as-comfortable hard wood floor. Todd soon placed his equipment on the floor near one of the beds, sat on the edge of the bed, and laid back as if exhausted from a long day of failed harvesting. He gave a good long sigh, partly pleased that Gallan had offered to take the floor before even giving anyone else the chance. He thought back to everything they had experienced and his personal quest in particular. 'At least I'm still alive and that's all that matters. As long as I'm still here, his loss is not for naught.,' he thought as if to re-ensure himself. He just hoped he would be able to get a good nights sleep as he suspected that would need it for the long day ahead.

Muta felt relaxed the moment she stepped into the inn. It had such a calming, comfortable atmosphere to it. She figured the homely feel it had contributed to the success the inn must have. It sure felt like a welcoming place. Muta turned her attention to the friendly face behind the desk, greeting the girl with a smile. She gave a light chuckle when Gallan couldn't help but ring the bell. She waited while her companion requested their rooms. She noticed how he had paid for them all on his own, and felt as though that wasn't fair. They all should have shared the cost of the rooms. Before she could bring it up, they were handed keys and headed off to their rooms. Muta sighed, figuring that maybe it wasn't a big deal after all.

The half-orc opened the door to her room and stepped inside. She gave a contented sigh at how cozy the room looked. The bed seemed to be calling out her name and she was tempted to plop down on it right now. However, she knew she needed to shower first. Muta walked over to the desk and took off her bag and weapons. She left them all sitting on the desk while she headed into the bathroom. She paused to marvel at how large and spacious it was, enough to fit multiple people it seemed. Deciding not to wait, Muta went ahead and started preparing for a bath. It was time to get rid of that awful dead fish smell.

Nolis had barely looked up from his aching, sandy feet after stepping into the inn. His movements and motions were almost robotic as he followed the group to the innkeeper, and then to the boys' room. It was only after they were inside the calm, quiet living space that the lizardboy lifted his head and observed his surroundings. Upon noticing how tidy and clean it was, he gave a muted sigh of relief. It was a novelty he honestly wasn't expecting on this journey. He figured he shouldn't squander it.

Realizing how dirty his feet were, he remembered that a few patrons in the main hall had given him strange looks as they passed by. He supposed it could have very well been sent at all of them, but he couldn't discern that. Seeing that his two companions were settling in their spots, he decided to take a quick bath to remove the grim and scent of body odor, which became yet another item on the ever-growing list of reasons he now hated deserts.

After he was finished, he slumped onto the empty bed and essentially passed out as soon as he hit the mattress, his wet, greasy hair soaking the fabric around his head. He had barely bothered to dry himself, it seemed.

Gallan had wanted to take a nice hot bath and yet so badly did he want to avoid the bath at all costs after his roommate had used it. The disgust was unmatched, bathing after someone else had occupied that water made him feel sick, he wish that there was just a well that he could hoist buckets of water from and clean himself with but there was not. Gallan, wrapping a cloth he found in the closet of the bathroom around his hand so as not to touch the water to the best of his abilities, grabbed the plug in the bottom of the bath, something he'd never seen before but he imagined would drain the water and so it did. Much to Gallan's surprise and absolute happiness the bath filled up with water from where he'd removed the plug, it looked pristine as if never used. He wondered if this was like the electrical lights that lined the streets, that this was magic. After throwing the cloth into the bin that was meant for dirty cloths he got into the bath and shoved the plug back in. He must have been in there a good hour just thinking about everything that was going on. He hoped the rest of the journey would be this easy, that he could relax and be around other people and feel safe but he knew better than that.

Once finished Gallan removed the plug, allowing the water to drain, refill and then he shoved the plug back in again. Gallan kept his clothes on, he wished he could clean then but he knew that that would have to wait, although he thought it possible to just wash them in the bath and hang them to dry, of course he'd already made his way to the floor, the nice comfortable freezing cold hard floor that had been made of clay. He fell asleep.

Eydis continued eyeing the goods of the blacksmith, still unable to decide what she wanted. Many of the weapons didn't convinced her, and very few seemed like long range weapons. She could try her luck with something small like a katana, but she has always been lousy with a sword, so it was not worth spending money for. It could be a great gift for anyone of the group, but she didn't know anybody that well to be that generous, not even Nolis. She felt like she still didn't know him despite having spent some time with him. The owner seemed very busy, so she decided to wait a while in order to receive recommendation, but if it took too long, she had no coice but to leave. The journey through the blue desert was finally taking a toll on her, and she was feeling tired with every minute that passed...

Todd merely laid back and relaxed while Nolis immediately took the chance to get a good both-- and not even bother to properly clean up after himself in the process. It didn't take very keen senses to know that the lizard boy had needed it though, as did they all. 'Great... well at least someone here will be clean.,' he thought to himself slightly regretting not taking the opportunity. When Gallan soon came back clean though and Nolis basically passed out on the other bed-- he knew or at least suspected that some magic was at play. And so, knowing that perhaps it was possible for them to cleanly take turns, he took the next opportunity to get up and take a well deserved bath. It was huge too, especially for someone of his stature. He knew it would probably be awhile 'till they got an opportunity like this, so he enjoyed it all it was worth spending perhaps half an hour enjoying the warm water until he had decided that it was time to get some proper sleep.

Just as Gallan had before him, he noticed the plug and had a look of delight as the bath filled once again with fresh clean water perfectly suitable for the next fortunate guest. And so-- he soon made his way to his bed where he tucked himself him and soon drifted off into sleep. The bed felt so comfortable and even more so for someone like him. He felt he could drown in the covers and just live in the peaceful abyss. It had almost made him temporarily forget about the loss of his partner. But just almost...

After a nice long, relaxing bath, Muta was all clean again, and that terrible fish smell was gone. She hopped out of the bath and dried herself off. Knowing that the outfit she had been wearing was also dirty, she had taken the time to wash it and hang it up to dry. So instead of wearing it to bed, which wouldn't have been very comfortable anyway, she opted to borrow some spare cloths in the room to cover herself with. Muta had noticed there was a plug in the bath and decided to pull it, hoping it would drain the water. She smiled when it did, glad that she wouldn't be leaving a mess for her roommate to deal with. She put the plug back in after the bath had refilled itself with fresh, clean water.

Once she was done, Muta stepped out of the bathroom and headed over to one of the beds. She had briefly noticed that the other bed was vacant, her roommate completely absent from the room. She wondered how much longer Eydis would still be awake, but was too tired to think too deeply on it. With a sigh, she plopped down onto the bed and slipped under the covers. She held the covers against her body, embracing the warmth, and snuggled her face against the pillow. Everything was so soft and comfortable. It wasn't long before Muta fell asleep.

Eydis waited for service, assuming that the shadowy figure behind the counter was the owner. Still basking in the shadows however the figure turned around, his face covered by the anonymity provided by the darkness inside the shop. "You." He spoke in a gruff slightly high voice, it sounded almost cranky. "Didn't you see the sign, Missy? Eldon is in the middle of something very important, you'll have to come back in the morning." He began to grumble to himself, his unfriendly muttering barely able to be heard. The man was short, one couldn't even assume that he was a man since his appearance was hidden by the severe lack of proper lighting at the moment. A noise was heard coming from the backroom, like footsteps. The man got restless. "Go! Get out of here, shoo! I'll give you a discount tomorrow just get out of here!" The remaining lights began to shut off, their electrical wonder fizzling out as if by magic.

"I'm leaving! Sheesh! You don't have to be a jerk about it!" Eydis expressed with disdain, increasingly disappointed by the service. Wherever that sign was, it wasn't at a very good place if she couldn't spot it. It could also be that she wasn't paying attention when she entered, but now it didn't matter. She wasn't in the mood to waste any time with an argument, so she left the shop without a fight. She was about to head for the store to buy the compass and the canteen, but it was on her way to the place that her muscle aches acted up and realized she urgently needed to rest. She did fight with a monstrous, meat eating squid just hours ago, so it was no wonder she was so tired.

She entered the inn with caution, taken aback by the fanciness of the place. She went to the counter to ask for a room.
"Excuse me there, is there a room by my name? It's Eydis. A group must've come by earlier to register." Eydis said, assuming the rest already retired to their respective rooms. As she awaited an answer she was hoping that whoever was in charge of this counter was much kinder than the man in the blacksmith. One display of rudeness was enough for one day.

The short, gruff and grumpy man had followed Eydis out and slammed the door behind her before leaning himself against the back end of the door and letting out a sigh. "She can't know...Not yet."

-----

The woman behind the counter smiled sweetly at Eydis. "Why no room by that name but there was a small boy who paid for five, you must be the last one in the party, right? Here's a key, it's just down the hall and to the right!"